Before the workshop: getting ready

Before the workshop, you will need to:

  1. Join our Slack workspace
  2. Install R
  3. Install RStudio
  4. Install packages
  5. Download workshop material from GitHub

1. Join our Slack workspace

All communications about the workshop will happen in our Slack workspace.

Slack is an application that is used for teams and projects communication, and can be used both on your browser and phone.

For more information about Slack, check their website.

If you have registered for the workshop, you will receive an invitation to join our Slack workspace by email.

In case you have not received the invitation, send me an email at lmbastos@ksu.edu with your full name, and I will add you once I confirm you are registered.

Make sure to use our Slack workspace to meet fellow attendees, seek help, and exchange ideas!


2. Install R

Follow this link, and download it for your appropriate operating system (Linux, MacOS, or Windows).

Once downloaded, install R on your laptop.


3. Install RStudio

Once you have already installed R, follow this link, and download RStudio for your appropriate operating system.

If multiple download options appear, select “Free RStudio Desktop”.

Once downloaded, install RStudio on your laptop.

You can run R without RStudio, but you cannot run RStudio without R.

R is the main software, RStudio is an extra software that makes our lives easier when working with R by providing an integrated development environment.


4. Install packages

If you are not familiar with R lingo, you can think of a package as an app on your phone: a package will extend R functionality by making available to you extra software options that do not come pre-installed with R.

We will be using multiple packages that need to be installed, and doing so before the workshop will ensure that no one gets behind.

After installing R and RStudio, follow these steps:

  • Download this R script
  • Double-click the R script (this will open it in RStudio)
  • On the same RStudio window that just opened, install each package at a time by placing your cursor on the first script line and hitting Ctrl + return (Windows) or Command + return (Mac)
  • Some text will start appearing on the console as the packages get installed
  • Keep running each line as described above until you reach the last package installation (script line 14)

To ensure that each package was installed, run the code starting with library("ggplot2"), line by line (from script lines 18 to 29).

If after running the library() function you get an error message like

Error in library(“packagename”) :
there is no package called `packagename

This means the package was not properly installed and you may need help.


5. Download material from GitHub

This will be a live coding workshop, meaning that we will develop the scripts together.

To download the initial partially-filled scripts and the data set, click here and follow the instructions.

At the end of the workshop, I will provide the completed scripts for your reference.


Once you have

  • Joined the Slack workspace
  • Downloaded and installed R
  • Downloaded and installed RStudio
  • Installed needed R packages
  • Downloaded material from GitHub

Then you are ready for the workshop!

If you run into issues at any of the steps above, let us know, preferably before Sunday, via Slack.

We need to make sure everyone is ready to go at 9 am, we will have very limited time for troubleshooting technical issues during the workshop!

I’m excited to be seeing you all soon!

Leo.

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